Russia nothing like the media stereotype
Kenyan Member of Parliament Catherine Omanyo has spoken out against prevailing media narratives that portray Russia negatively, and is urging her fellow citizens and international observers to re-evaluate their perceptions of the country.
Speaking to RT on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), Omanyo remarked that 'the newspapers, what we read about Russia is negative throughout,' noting that her own view changed when she visited the country.
She called on others to travel and witness the country firsthand, rather than relying on external narratives. 'The fear I had about Russia is gone,' she said.
'Russia is opening up for everyone, and I'm happy that it is Africa that Russia has thought of too,' the Kenyan official stated. In her words, it is important 'to change the attitude and create space for dialogue, bilateral trade, [and] multilateral trade.'
Reflecting on the challenges facing both Russia and African nations, the MP stressed that the path forward should involve creating opportunities for younger generations and fostering mutual solutions. 'We want to exchange, to learn from each other, expand in each other's territory and just co-exist,' she noted.
In a social media post following the forum, Omanyo praised Moscow's approach, saying 'I applaud Russia for its thoughtful inclusion of Africa in global dialogue. It's a strong signal of mutual respect and deepening cooperation.'
SPIEF 2025 concluded on Saturday with over 1,000 agreements signed, worth 6.3 trillion rubles (approximately $80 billion). Delegates from more than 140 countries attended, including world leaders, global institutions, and corporate giants.
The forum featured more than 350 events and 24 business dialogues, reflecting its role as a key platform for shaping international economic and strategic partnerships.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Zelensky has a Nazi problem. He can't lie his way out of it
Anniversaries can be opportunities. For better or worse. In the case of the recent anniversary of Nazi Germany's massive attack on the Soviet Union of 22 June 1941 – code-named Operation Barbarossa by the Germans – Ukraine's beyond best-by-date president Vladimir Zelensky went for the worst. Using his own Telegram channel, Zelensky shared his bizarre view of why that anniversary mattered. In short, because it can serve in the information war against Russia. 'Eighty years ago,' the Kiev regime leader wrote, 'the world overcame Nazism and swore 'Never again.' But today Russia is repeating the crimes of the Nazis […] Now Ukrainians are fighting against rashism [a pejorative term fusing the words 'Russia' and 'fascism'] with the same courage with which our ancestors defeated Nazism…' Where to begin? Why not with the obvious: IF Russia were following Nazi examples, then much of Ukraine would now look like, for instance, Gaza. And while every death is a tragedy, the numbers of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Ukraine War would be of an entirely different order of magnitude. This is not a matter of opinion. It's a fact that can be quantified and proven: As of the end of May, the UN counted about 13,279 Ukrainian civilians killed, since the beginning of the large-scale fighting in February 2022. It is true that the UN also warns that these are conservative, minimum figures. Yet consider some figures for Gaza under Israeli genocidal assault since October 2023. As of early June, the enclave's health ministry – generally acknowledged as reliable and also conservative with its numbers, notwithstanding Israeli and Western propaganda – has counted over 55,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza alone (Israel's victims in the West bank and elsewhere should, of course, not be forgotten.) The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between resistance fighters and civilians, but there is a virtual expert consensus that the share of the latter is unusually high, as you would expect during a genocide. A peer-reviewed study in the prestigious and unbiased medical journal The Lancet, for instance, has estimated that 59.1% of deaths between October 2023 and June 2024 were women, children, and the elderly. Other equally reputable organizations have even estimated around 90% of civilian casualties in Gaza. Keep in mind that the above is deliberately restricted to minimum estimates. As The Lancet has also shown, the real death toll in Gaza is likely to be far higher. Let's also not even dwell here on 'details,' such as that Gaza now has the highest concentration of child amputees in the world. For even the bare figures cited suffice to gain a sense of proportion and perspective: Gaza, before the Israeli mass murder attack had a total population of between 2.2 and 2.4 million. Ukraine's total population on the eve of the large-scale escalation of February 2022 was just over 41 million, according to Ukrainian official sources. And now compare the numbers of civilian casualties and the total populations. It is obvious: If Vladimir Zelensky is looking for a state that uses methods – if that is the word – of Nazi warfare, then that would be Israel, not Russia. But he cannot say that because Israel is aligned with the US and the West, just like his own regime. Figures can help expose blatant lies, especially when they are as stunningly unambiguous as in this case. But the quantitative isn't everything, obviously. What about what social scientists and historians – such as me – call the qualitative dimension? In other words, what about what makes people tick? In that regard, the West's proxy war against Russia and via Ukraine has seen one of the most successful operations of political whitewashing in recent memory. Before Kiev, first under Zelensky's predecessor Petro Poroshenko and then under Zelensky himself, turned Ukraine into a Western tool and battering ram against Russia, at least some Western experts and even mainstream media were well aware that Ukraine had a rapidly growing, increasingly powerful, and extremely subversive (domestically and internationally) far-right movement. As of 2014, even the BBC was still admitting that Ukrainian media and politicians were deliberately 'underplaying' the potency and significance of their far-right. But then, as if on command, Western mainstream media united to belittle this malevolent force, pretending that it was either hardly there (and any impressions to the contrary were, of course, 'Russian disinformation'), really harmless (a handful of misunderstood 'patriots' with a few tattoos that look Nazi but are really just Tolkien), or on the mend, undergoing a steady and, of course, totally honest conversion to mainstream politics. What happened in reality was that instead of adjusting to the Western 'value' mainstream or Center – wherever that supposedly might be – the Ukrainian far right succeeded in making that mainstream adjust to its will. Probably because real-existing Western 'values' have a genuine affinity to fascism anyhow. Now with the West's war going badly, as even Western media have to recognize, even French paper of record Le Monde – as russophobic and rarara-proxy war as its worst peers in the US – has noticed that far-right, indeed strictly Neo-Nazi tendencies – polite expression – are alive and kicking in key units of Ukraine's armed forces. Dear colleagues from France: Congratulations! And you should see the politics. Since the West and Ukraine are losing the war, expect more of such shocked re-discoveries of what every objective observers has known for a long time: In the Ukraine War, the home of men and women who genuinely enjoy displaying Nazi symbols – from the swastika to the Wolfsangel to the sun wheel – is in Ukraine. That does not mean that the majority of Ukrainians side with them. But their regime and its controlled media do. The same regime and media droning on about Russia and Nazis. As they – rightly – say about Israel, so about the Zelensky regime: Every accusation is a confession.
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Calvin Klein files to restore trademark in Russia
US fashion brand Calvin Klein has joined a growing number of foreign companies seeking to re-establish their trademarks in Russia, more than three years after halting operations following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and subsequent Western sanctions. According to a filing with the Russian patent office, Rospatent, the company submitted an application on June 16 to register its brand across a broad range of goods and services, from cosmetics, clothing, and accessories to furniture, textiles, and advertising. If approved, the trademark would allow Calvin Klein to sell products such as perfume, soap, deodorants, shampoo, sunglasses, backpacks, T-shirts, watches – and even furniture and carpets – under its name. The filing also includes bookcases and wardrobes, suggesting a push beyond the brand's core fashion line. The rights are being sought by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), the US-based owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. PVH was among the many Western companies that exited Russia in 2022 due to sanctions, supply disruptions, and public pressure. At the time, it operated more than 150 stores across the country. It first announced it was suspending operations, followed by a full shutdown. Calvin Klein has made no official statement on plans to resume business in Russia. Its filing comes amid signs of renewed interest from some foreign brands in re-entering the market through licensing or third-party deals, despite ongoing restrictions. Rospatent has not yet ruled on the application. Calvin Klein now joins a list of global brands – including McDonald's, Hyundai, Intel, Microsoft, LG, IKEA, Chanel, Rolex, and Louis Vuitton – that have sought to maintain or restore their intellectual property rights in Russia, regardless of whether they are currently operating in the country. According to Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, foreign businesses that left three years ago have been quietly returning. He told reporters last month that US companies lost over $300 billion from their withdrawal. Moscow and Washington have begun rebuilding ties that were frayed under former President Joe Biden. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January, both sides have held high-level talks aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict and improving diplomatic relations. Trump and Putin have each voiced support for reviving economic cooperation. In March, Putin ordered the government to draft clearer rules for Western companies seeking to return, with the aim of protecting domestic producers.
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ukraine conflict, hypersonic weapons, and nuclear arsenal upgrades: Key takeaways from Putin's speech
President Vladimir Putin on Monday hosted distinguished graduates of Russian military and security institutions in the Kremlin, speaking on the country's challenges and outlining the priorities for its armed forces. Here are the key takeaways from Putin's speech: Ukraine conflict The Ukraine conflict is a part of the 'fight for our future,' the president told the graduates, stating that today's Russian soldiers are 'the direct heirs of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, all generations of defenders of thousand-year-old Russia.' Putin said that the conflict was providing invaluable military experience, which Russia must preserve, expand, and pass on to make the country's military even stronger. 'Today, the experience of the special military operation is becoming a key advantage of the Russian Armed Forces. It is important to preserve this unique resource, pass it on to the next generations of servicemen, and integrate it into the process of training,' he stressed. West never learns Certain politicians in the West are still dreaming about inflicting a 'strategic defeat' on Russia and continue to pump Ukraine with assorted weaponry, Putin stated, adding that previous attempts by Western nations to advance eastward apparently taught them nothing. 'They continue to send weapons and money to the Kiev regime, and provide military-technical and intelligence support, essentially as direct participants in the conflict,' the president said. Military modernization Further modernization of the country's military remains a priority for Russia, Putin said. That goal is particularly important given 'growing geopolitical tensions,' the president stressed. 'Given the increased role of unmanned aerial vehicles in modern conflicts, a new branch of the armed forces is being formed – the Unmanned Systems Troops,' he said. Nuclear forces Russia continues to upgrade and expand its nuclear deterrent, the president said, revealing that the country's arsenal will receive a few additions this year, including new intercontinental ballistic missiles and upgraded strategic bombers. 'We are paying special attention here to our 'nuclear triad'. The Strategic Missile Forces will be supplied with modern Yars systems, and the aviation component of the strategic nuclear forces will be replenished with modernized Tu-160M missile carriers this year,' Putin stated. Hypersonic Oreshnik system Russia is launching serial production of hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile systems, the president said. The system was battle-tested in Ukraine last November, when the missile, which boasts multiple independently guided warheads, was used against the sprawling Yuzhmash military plant. 'Serial production of the latest medium-range missile system Oreshnik, which has fared very well in combat conditions, is being launched,' Putin announced.
